


Casual Observers: Mr. Squirrels

by Browneyesparker



Series: Casual Observers [8]
Category: Girl Meets World
Genre: F/M, Family, Friendship, Gen, Humor, Romance, girl meets world - Freeform, joshaya
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-18
Updated: 2015-09-18
Packaged: 2018-04-21 10:42:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,065
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4826069
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Browneyesparker/pseuds/Browneyesparker
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>He knew he was going to have to move forward with reverence from then on out and treat the thing that was blossoming between Josh and Maya with the sort of respect it deserved. From then on out, he was going to try and sit back and just observe what was between them like everybody else had been doing. It was what he should have been doing all along.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Casual Observers: Mr. Squirrels

**Author's Note:**

> There is a scene in And Older Brothers where Eric and Cory have a conversation about Josh & Maya. For the sake of this story, I’ve tweaked it a little bit. It won’t be an exact replica of what transpired between Cory and Eric in the second installment of this series. Forgive me the on purpose inconsistencies, please.

**.**

**Chapter 8**

_Mr. Squirrels_

More than fifty-percent of the time Eric Matthews really had no idea what was going on. Most of the time it was because he was oblivious to things but sometimes it was just because his family was mean and wouldn’t clue him in on what was going on. There was the very _rare_ occasion he knew exactly what was going on.

Such was the case when it came to his youngest brother Josh and their niece’s best friend Maya Hart. Sure, they may have been really young (Eric wasn’t sure of their ages, he just knew they weren’t in high school or remotely around his age), but they looked so good together at Morgan’s wedding, they didn’t leave each other’s side for a second and they danced to song after song, he was sure they would get dizzy and collapse into a heap on the dance floor.

But they didn’t even collapse after the wedding was over, they were the only two awake as he drove the kids home, high on cake and Jordan almonds and punch, chatting the whole drive away. They didn’t even stop to take a breath, Eric wanted to tell them to slow down a bit but when he glanced in the mirror and saw the looks of pure joy on their face, he couldn’t.

They were two of the cutest kids in the world and his heart was melting. He drove on and just listened to them, trying not to wish that he had found his person when he was just a little boy.

**.**

“Guess who I saw today,” Eric teased Josh a few years later.

“Kate Upton?” Josh guessed and Eric could picture him rolling his eyes because Josh hated playing guessing games with his older brother.

“Nope.”

“Rachel?” Josh guessed again.

“Oh come on, you know I see her every Sunday for brunch,” Eric said, rolling _his_ eyes this time. “Today is Friday Josh. Duh.”

“Jack?”

“I don’t even know where Jack is right now,” Eric answered. “Come on, think about it!”

“Eric, just tell me who you saw. I don’t have time to do this right now, I have _so_ much homework!” Josh grumbled.

“I saw _Morticia,_ ” Eric replied. “Do you remember Morticia? Your old girlfriend from years and years ago.”

“Do you mean _Maya_?” Josh asked.

“That’s what I said,” Eric said. “I saw Morticia at Cory’s school today.”

Josh groaned. “Eric, Morticia is a character on _the Addams Family_. _Maya_ is a student at Cory’s school. And big deal, you saw Maya. I see her all the time.”

“You do!? Are you two actually seeing each other? If you know what I mean.”

“Nooooo!!! She’s _three_ years younger than me!”

“Then how are you _seeing_ her all the time? Do you see dead people?”

“Eric, Maya isn’t dead. Besides, you can see her too. I’ve just been going to New York a lot since Christmas.”

“Reealllly? Why? Does May-Lynn have anything to do with it?”

“Maya has nothing to do with it,” Josh answered, his voice a little higher than usual. “I just like visiting our family.”

“And Molly is an added bonus, isn’t she?”

“Molly isn’t remotely close to her name!” Josh told him. “I have to go Eric, lots of homework. I’ll talk to you later. Love you, ‘bye Eric.”

“Love you too,” Eric answered, the phone clicking off before he could add one more teasing remark to their conversation.

There would be plenty more opportunities for teasing though, of that he was sure.

Josh and Maya weren’t going to know what hit them. 

**.**

“So, have you seen Mona lately?” Eric asked Josh, leaning against the counter and raising his eyebrows suggestively.

“Her name is _Maya_ , Eric. _My-ah_.”

“Oooh, somebody’s got a crush!” Eric sang. “Somebody’s got a crush, somebody’s got a crush. Somebody’s got a crush.”

_“Eric!”_

“Somebody’s got a crush! Somebody’s got a crush!”

“She’s too young for me!” Josh protested.

“I didn’t hear a _no_!” Eric said.

Josh made a face and walked away.

“ _De_ Nile isn’t a river in Egypt, Joshua!” Eric called after him, laughing to himself a little bit.

“Do you even hear yourself sometimes?” Josh called back, stopping short. “But by any chance, do you know how Maya was when you last saw her?”

“She was fine when I saw her 1 hour and 49 minutes ago,” Eric said, smirking. “Why? Who wants to know?”

 _“Eric!”_ Josh said in exasperation, leaving him alone for real this time.

**.**

“Do you know why Josh and Mae would be perfect for each other?” Eric asked his parents while they all ate dinner together.

“This oughta be good,” Alan muttered dryly to Amy. “For starters, he can’t even remember the girl’s actual name.”

“Why would _Maya_ and I make such a great couple?” Josh asked, even though Eric knew he was going to regret asking him in a few minutes.

“Because you both thought Robin and Barney should have ended up together and Robin and Ted are your NOtp!”

Alan dropped his fork, his mouth slightly agape. “Are you even using _English_ , Eric!?”

“NOtp is a word people use when they really dislike a pairing on TV,” Amy explained. “What? I read Urban Dictionary.”

Alan sighed. “Eric just because Josh and Maya both wanted a fictional couple to end up together on a fictional TV show doesn’t make them ‘perfect’ for each other, you do know that. Right?”

“What? It’s _shared_ interests, Dad!” Eric protested. “They both share a strong hatred for Ted, come on! It would be perfect.”

“They can’t end up together because they have a shared disdain for a _fictional_ character, Eric!” Alan said, looking at him like he wanted to slap him upside the head. “Use your head, son!”

“Well at least they have something in common,” Eric grumbled as he pushed his peas around his plate.

“Eric, how many times do I have to tell you that she’s too young for me!?”

“Oh, the lady doth protest too much!”

“I’m not a girl!”

“He’s not a girl, Eric! Just leave him alone and we can have a nice family dinner,” Alan said. _“Please.”_

So, Eric dropped it for the time being but the subject was far from over as far as he was concerned. Josh hadn’t seen or heard from the last of his teasing yet.

And it was time to turn his attention on Maya too. He had been neglecting her for too long.

**.**

“I saw Josh the other day,” Eric mentioned to Cory, watching for Maya’s reaction from the corner of his eye.

Cory frowned. “I know, you told me that when you got here. What are you doing Eric? You’re being weird again.”

“Am I? Am I really?” Eric asked, laughing almost manically.

Cory’s eyes narrowed and Eric knew this was one of the times his younger brother really didn’t get him. But he wasn’t going to tell him what was going on because Cory was just going to tell him to stop and he was having too much fun to do _that_.

Besides, he still hadn’t gotten a reaction from Maya yet. He took a deep breath and was about to repeat that he had seen Josh for a third time when Riley dragged Maya away on the guise of doing their homework. Eric was confused, clearly there was something else going on that nobody was telling him about.

Maybe there were some feelings leftover from childhood and he really wasn’t being funny. Even if _that_ were true, he it wasn’t going to stop him from trying to get a reaction from the both of them. Because even though it might not have been funny anymore, it was still _fun_.

**.**

“I like Margie very much but not in _that way_ ,” Eric told Josh one night just to get a reaction out of him.

Josh pushed air through his lips. “ _Maya_. Her name is _Maya_ , how many times do I have to tell you!?”

Eric smirked. “For somebody who doesn’t like her, you sure mention her name a lot.”

“Eric. . .”

Suddenly, something dawned on Eric. “Wait a second I just realized something, you’ve never _denied_ liking her!”

“I’ve already had this conversation more than once,” Josh muttered, still not saying _I don’t like her_ _like that_ , he even forgot to mention the age difference this time.

“Josh and Maya sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G,” Eric sang, grinning at Josh and dancing around like an idiot.

“Oh that’s real mature, Eric,” Alan scolded as he retrieved a couple of Cokes from the fridge for him and Amy. “Why don’t you stop teasing your brother already?”

“Because it’s _hysterical_ ,” Eric answered.

Josh just shook his head as he started up the stairs. “I’ll be in my room, if anybody needs me.”

“What?” Eric asked when he saw his father glaring at him. “It’s funny! And it isn’t like the two of them have actual real feelings for each other. Right?”

“Oh, I don’t know,” Alan answered. “Have you ever actually paid any real _attention_ to Josh and Maya?”

“No. Not really, except that one time. . . but I thought it was just kid stuff, dad!” Eric protested. “They were like _ten_ and. . .”

He trailed off, realizing how lame his argument sounded. He had been so intent on making Josh and Maya’s relationship a game, he had lost sight of the truth. The truth he had known ever since he had seen them dancing at Morgan’s wedding.

Josh and Maya liked each other.

It was like lightning striking the same place twice. Except this time it was a story of two boys from the same family falling for girls at a very young age and Life was keeping them together through all her ups and downs.

Eric was awestruck by how amazing it all really was.

He knew he was going to have to move forward with reverence from then on out and treat the thing that was blossoming between Josh and Maya with the sort of respect it deserved. From then on out, he was going to try and sit back and just observe what was between them like everybody else had been doing.

It was what he should have been doing all along.

**.**

When Eric really started to pay attention to Josh and Maya, he was spellbound.

Yes, they only acted in a way that friends did but there was always something right under the surface. A whisper of love that would spark into something very real and true from the way the two of them kept fanning the flames even though they would _both_ sprout off that they were only friends if anybody asked.

And what a sweet friendship it was.

Eric didn’t get to see them together very often but when he did see them, it was a plethora of shared secrets and inside jokes and handfuls of caramels because it was Maya’s second favorite candy.

And Josh always did stuff like bring Maya’s second favorite candy because anybody could bring a person’s favorite candy, knowing their second favorite candy was what made the relationship really special. It meant they really knew each other.

When Eric heard Josh tell Maya this, he wanted to relentlessly tease him about it because he was saying and doing the same wussy things that Corey had done with Topanga. But then Cory had gotten the girl, Eric was the former mayor of St. Upidtown and a senator in New York with no wife or girlfriend to his name. So, he rose above it and didn’t say anything to either of his love sick brothers.

**.**

Eric couldn’t believe his eyes. Maya and Josh were kissing in the middle of Broadway, underneath the _Finding Neverland_ marquee and to a couple advertising the opening of an off-Broadway revival of _Carousel_ through a monologue. He kept his eyes trained on them, afraid if he blinked he would find out he had imagined the whole thing.

But his eyes were watering from keeping them wide open, so he _had_ to blink.

When he opened his eyes again, the moment was over and they were just staring at each other while the main male character from _Carousel_ was going on about saying something about how the main female character was looking up at him with a little kid’s face like she trusted him.

From where Eric stood, Maya looked exactly like the character did when she was looking at Josh.

Eric smirked to himself, everybody had been buzzing about when Josh and Maya would get together or at least kiss and he had gotten to witness their first time, so to speak. He was proud of the fact. Except he couldn’t tell anybody it had happened.

He knew nobody would ever believe him.

Especially when he got to Cory’s apartment and found Maya and Josh on the couch watching reruns of cartoons with Ava and Auggie.

“What are you two doing here?” He blurted out without saying hello.

Auggie rolled his eyes. “I live here Uncle Eric.”

“What are _Moresha and Josh_ doing here!?” Eric clarified.

Auggie frowned. “Who’s Moresha?”

“I think he means Maya, Auggie,” Ava answered, rolling her eyes at her uncle-in-law. “Maya and Josh are babysitting us,” she informed him.

“I thought. . . I thought. . .” Eric trailed off, very confused about what was going on. “But where’s everybody else?”

“Riley and Farkle are working on a school project at his house and my parents are on a date night,” Auggie answered, stuffing some popcorn in his mouth. “Ava’s parents are out of town. She’s staying with us for a few days.”

“Oh. . .”

“What did you think was going on, Eric?” Josh asked, amused by his oldest brother’s confusion.

“Never you mind!” Eric answered. “I have important state stuff to do, I’ll see you guys later. ‘Bye!”

**.**

They were in the Cape Cod for a family vacation and they had all gone to some sort of music festival in East Falmouth. Josh and Maya were dancing together, spinning around and around in ripped jeans and Cape Cod sweatshirts to a Gabrielle Aplin song. Maya’s thick fishtail braid swung around her waist as Josh picked her up and whirled her around.

Eric watched them as he ate fried seafood and drank Budweiser beer. It was like they had been dancing together even before Morgan’s wedding all those years ago. They fit together, like two puzzle pieces and he was getting impatient.

He was a senator. He knew state laws pretty well (or he at least liked to make people think that he did) and there wouldn’t be anything wrong with them getting together. Not in New York City anyways, he wondered what was keeping them from getting together in more than name only.

There were a lot of things that Senator Eric Matthews didn’t get.

**.**

“Josh and Maya!” Eric said one day over root beer floats and Goldfish with Cory and Eric.

Cory looked a little surprised. “How long have you known?”

“Um, I dunno. Forever? I mean, I forgot about it for a long time, so I teased Josh about it _forever_ and then one day, I didn’t forget anymore. How could you have _not_ known?”

Cory shook his head. “Eric, I’ve _always_ known! Ever since we brought Maya to Philly for the first time.”

“Our little brother, who’d have ever thought he would turn out like _you_?”

“He isn’t like _me_!” Cory scoffed. “Believe me, he’s 100 percent his _own_ person. Just because he found his person earlier than most people doesn’t mean anything at all.”

Eric slurped down his root beer float and nodded. “Well, at least they’re good friends even if they aren’t together yet. That’s as good a foundation as any,” he said, it was one of his rare smarter moments.

Cory smiled. “There is _that_ ,” he agreed.

**.**

It was raining hard.

Maya looked out the Matthews window before dropping the curtain back in place. “I really should go home before the storm gets too bad, my mother is probably home from work already and I promised we would have dinner together.”

Eric stopped reading _Flat Stanley_ to Auggie and Ava and looked at Maya. “You could just call her and tell her you’re staying here,” he suggested.

“Or I could walk you to your apartment,” Josh said. “I have an umbrella.”

“You _could_ walk her home,” Eric interjected, smiling slyly. He liked the idea of the two of them huddled under an umbrella and splashing through the streets of New York as they tried to avoid getting rained on. His only regret was that they would miss it.

If only it wouldn’t be very creepy to follow them.

**.**

18 came and went, along with Maya’s high school graduation. They still didn’t ask each other out or make their relationship official. Eric was on edge, he wanted to use all his power to force them together but Cory kept telling him that if he forced it, he might scare them off and they might _never_ get together if he did that.

So, he waited.

For anything to happen.

**.**

When they _finally_ kissed at the stroke of midnight on New Year’s Eve, it was all Eric could do _not_ to scream _yes!_ over and over again while he fist pumped the air. He was calm and collected on the outside while Josh and Maya both ran in different directions when they had finally pulled away from each other.

Eric started to talk after a while, trying to distract everybody while they waited for Josh and Cory and Maya and Riley to come back and be okay.

While they waited for Josh and Maya to find each other and _finally_ be the way everybody else wanted them to be.

**.**

“I’m still not always going to call you _Maya_ ,” Eric told her the day that Maya married her brother.

Maya smiled radiantly. “I know.”

“But I _am_ glad you’re my sister,” Eric continued as he pulled her into a tight embrace. “Welcome to the family Maya Matthews.”

“You don’t know how good _that_ sounds,” Maya replied as he let go of her and she went to find Josh for their first dance.

And Eric watched as they whirled around and around to the song they had been dancing to since they were two little kids who had no idea what they were in for.

 

**_The End_**

 

**.**

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> The “kiss” on Broadway is up to your interpretation, if you want them to kiss then they kissed. If you think Eric imagined it, that’s okay too. But since I outlined Eric’s chapter, I never really decided if they kissed or not. I wanted to leave it up to you guys. Anyways, look at me updating on time! I was a little distracted by things (the mention of Robin and Barney is a direct nod to that) but I wanted to get this out today for you guys, so I’ve spent spare time writing. 
> 
> Second order of business, I am going out of town for two weeks starting next Friday. I am hoping to have access to a computer while I am there. But if I don’t, I will update one last time next Thursday and try get a few of these written while I’m in New England.
> 
> Please tell me what you thought of this. Eric was another difficult character to write because I want to stay true to him but at the same time, I don’t think he’s the stupidest guy in the room.
> 
> Until Next Time!


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